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Winter 2019

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This is Cedar Avenue looking north at 5th Street in the early 1890s. At right is the landmark Dania Hall, built in 1886. It burned and was demolished in 2000. Horse-
drawn streetcars had been here since 1884, and the line was electrified in 1891. Center poles suspended the early overhead wires. Later they were replaced with
sidewalk-mounted poles and span wires. For more on the ever-changing West Bank track construction, see page 14. Minnesota Historical Society collection.

Twin City Lines is published
quarterly by the

Minnesota Streetcar Museum

P. O. Box 16509
Minneapolis, MN 55416-0509
(952) 922-1096
www-.trolleyride.org
Vol. 13 No. 1
Aaron Isaacs, Editor
3816 Vincent Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-231-8989
aaronmona@aol.com
Twin City Lines is published quarterly and is

mailed to members in good standing without
charge under Third Class postal permit.

The Minnesota Streetcar Museum operates the
Como-Harriet Streetcar Line in Minneapolis
and the Excelsior Streetcar Line in Excelsior.
Its mission is to preserve Minnesota’s electric
railway heritage.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
and OFFICERS
Chair Aaron Isaacs
Vice-Chair Dave French
Secretary James A. Vaitkunas
Bob Bayers

John Dillery Ben Franske
Karen Kertzman _ Darel Leipold
Myrle McKenzie Joe Young

Bruce Gustafson, General Superintendent
Todd Bender, Excelsior Superintendent

Chris Heck, Treasurer

No Stop Cars

-Aaron Isaacs

While browsing the online Historic
Minneapolis ‘Tribune, I stumbled
across a previously unknown TCRT
operation, "No Stop" — streetcars.
Inaugurated in 1916, they were PM
rush hour trips from downtown that
made no stops between downtown
and Lake Street in south Minneapolis
or Broadway in north Minneapolis.

In an era of extreme overcrowding,
the No Stop cars increased the chances
that someone riding farther out could
actually get on board, rather than be
bypassed. Travel time was not
reduced, because cars were scheduled
every couple of minutes, so the No
Stop car always had to wait behind
regular cars that made all the stops.
However, once settled in, the passen-
gers didn't have to deal with the
jostling that accompanied boarding
and alighting.

The idea was tried first with three
trips each on the Nicollet and Bryant
lines in February 1916. Here's an early
newspaper account. "Large crowds of

7wwlk, information About
= “No Stop” Cars

Giving list of Cars run, their schedules, and the system
governing their stops to take on and let off passengers.

PASSENGER STOPS MADE

Seinen
| | Sith Se |
| ROBBINSDALE (5:84, 6:26 P. M Nerth

————— ee |
Between Sth St. Between Lake St.
ad

downtown workers craning their necks to see the cars labeled 'No Stop' gave evi-
dence all last week of the success of the plan for 'through' cars on the Nicollet
and Bryant avenue lines in the evening rush hours.

The Street Railway company inaugurated the new service, calling for No
Stops from 8th Street to Lake Street, for three additional cars last Monday. The
first day, many of the 'long riders’, those persons living south of Lake Street, took

Front cover: The aftermath of a fender bender between an auto and a northbound 34th Avenue streetcar. This is the notorious cor-
ner of Franklin Avenue and Cedar Avenue, where three streetcar lines were frequently delayed by Milwaukee Road trains, which
passed diagonally through the intersection. See page 17 for more on Franklin and Cedar. Minneapolis Star-Tribune photo,

Minnesota Historical Society collection.

advantage of the opportunity to ride in
cars that made No Stops.

The second day the crowds nearly
doubled and last night the three addi-
tional cars went out crowded to the
doors.

The time saved by the cars was not
appreciable but the satisfaction of rid-
ing ona car that went through without
a stop made up for it. Instead of three
cars in the coming week, there will be
four on the Bryant line, representatives
of the company announced yesterday."

Passengers on other lines immedi-
ately demanded No Stop cars. Within a
short time they were added to the
Chicago Avenue and Oak-Harriet
lines. In April 1916 the Robbinsdale
line received No Stop cars, with the
longest nonstop section yet, down-
town to Broadway and Penn. The
same day, April 25, saw No Stops
added to Grand Avenue. The Fremont
Avenue and Camden lines received No
Stop cars in October 1916. These oper-
ated a little differently.

For the first year the Nicollet, Bryant
and Hennepin cars made no stops
between downtown and Lake Street.
The Fremont and Camden cars would
stop between downtown and
Broadway, but only to pick up passen-
gers for Broadway and beyond. In
May 1917, the operating rules were
made consistent across all the lines,
with pickups only in the No Stop zone.

January 2017 brought the first No
Stops as far as Lake Street on the Cedar
Avenue and Minnehaha Avenue lines.

After 1917 nothing appears in the
newspapers to indicate when TCRT
eliminated the No Stops. It probably
happened as ridership dropped off in
the 1920s or 30s.

Duluth Street Railway ran similar
No Stop cars on the Woodland and
Lester Park lines.

-4-

Ed Nelson's load checks

-Aaron Isaacs

I recently spent some time at the
Minnesota Historical Society getting
reacquainted with the materials Russ
Olson donated back in the 1980s. At
the time there was no hint that MSM
would ever establish a library, and he
wanted them to be safeguarded and
accessible to the public.

I came across two pieces of paper
that were a pleasant surprise. Bear in
mind that I'm an old Metro Transit
route and schedule planner and love to
wade into details that might put others
to sleep, so bear with me.

The papers were a pair a of streetcar
load checks taken by Ed Nelson in
1947 and 1954. You may recall the
Summer 2017 issue of Twin City Lines
was devoted to Ed and his obsession
with all things streetcar.

TCRT took load checks at intersec-
tions along its lines to track on-time
performance, spot overloads and
refine schedules to meet demand.
Most were taken at the "max load
points" on the edge of downtown
where the streetcars experienced their
largest loads. Checkers didn't actually
enter the car to count heads. They
started with the assumption that a full
seated load was 50, then estimated the
actual load based on the number of
empty seats or standees visible from
outside the car. Not hard to do once
you get used to it. The counts weren't
exact, but were close enough for writ-
ing schedules.

TCRT employed several full time
load checkers, and supervisors also
checked loads when they weren't oth-
erwise occupied. The 1918 TCRT
Operating Department rulebook says
that daytime max load checks should
be taken every two days and
evening/night checks every week.

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Knowing Ed, he wasn't on company Thursday July 17, 1947 5-9 AM

business when he took these checks; he
just wanted to record the numbers for
himself.

Even though the wartime traffic
bubble was starting to ebb, almost 199
million rode that year. That's similar to

the early 1920s. The system was strug-
gling to haul everyone, so this check
gives a feel for that level of ridership.

Ed took the check at Broadway and
Irving Avenue N., not a location nor-
mally used for a load check, and it cer-
tainly wasn't a max load point. He was
watching three lines. Chicago-Penn
would normally have been checked at
2nd Avenue North and Glenwood, the
north edge of downtown, where the
checker could also see Chicago-
Fremont cars and the Glenwood-4th
Avenue line. The Robbinsdale line
would normally have been checked at
Plymouth and Washington Avenue
North, also the max load point for the
Camden, Plymouth and _ North
Emerson lines.

Because it was well before the max
load count, the size of the loads is less
than it would be farther down the line.
Knowing that, it's extraordinary how
heavy the loads are. Let's start with the
Chicago-Penn line.

5-6AM 6-7 7-8 8-9
Streetcars 1 4 5 5
Frequency 20 6 3 4
Total load 74 418 1255 665
Avg. load 25 42 60 42
Standing loads 0 3. 14 3

Looking at these numbers, remem-
ber that the loads got even heavier
between Irving Avenue and down-
town. During the peak hour, every car
probably had standees.

Here's the same table for the less
busy Robbinsdale line.

5-6AM 6-7 7-8 8-9
Streetcars 1 5 12 8

Frequency 60 12 5 7.5
Total load 35-230 687 281
Avg. load 35 46 57 35

Standing loads 0 2 7 1

The Broadway Crosstown

There was one additional line that
passed through Broadway & Irving,
the Broadway Crosstown. Irving was
only a mile from the west end of the
line at 19th Avenue (today's Golden
Valley Road) and Upton Avenue. The
Crosstown was always one of the
lightest lines in the system. For that
reason it was assigned lightweight
streetcars, including cars 1 and 2, short
lightweights built for the Stillwater
local lines and favorites of Ed's. They
were running that day.

Although the Crosstown's numbers
pale in comparison to the two big
downtown routes, consider that the
numbers in the next table were collect-
ed in a mere mile of track before reach-
ing Irving. That's incredibly produc-
tive. Today's Broadway Crosstown
averages about one passenger per
route mile. It should be noted that
many of these passenger were headed
downtown and_ transferred at
Broadway & Emerson.

5-6AM 6-7 7-8 8-9

Streetcars 3 10 21 16
Frequency 20 6 3 4
Total load 2 54 120 69
Avg. load 2 14 24 14

Standing loads 0 0 0 O

Friday June 18, 1954 6-10 AM, the
last day of streetcar service

Ed recorded the last morning rush
hour before the streetcars were
replaced by buses. He took the check
at 11th and Hennepin, in front of the
TCRT office building. The last two
lines still running were the Como-
Harriet and Oak-Harriet. They ran as a
single service between 44th and Xerxes
Avenue South and Dinkytown, before
going their separate ways to Como
and Eustis and Oak and Beacon SE.

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town was much diminished from the Childhood streetcar
World War II years, it was still impres- ;
: : ; memories
sive. During the middle of the rush
hour there was a streetcar every two -Tom Rollo

minutes, and half of those cars carried
standing loads.

6-7AM 7-8 8-9 9-10
Streetcars 8 28 22 13
Frequency 7.5 2 3 6
Total load 360 1539 857 264
Avg. load 45 55 «639 «20
Standing loads 2 1 5 0

The end was 15 hours away and the
streetcars were still working hard and
getting it done.

Note: MSM member Tom Rollo of
Milwaukee passed away last year. Back in
1979 he wrote an account of his recollec-
tions of TCRT streetcars as seen through
the eyes of a five year old living near the
Como-Harriet streetcar line in the Linden
Hills area of Minneapolis from 1951 to
1955 during the final years of streetcar
service. It was published in the
Minnegazette in four parts. This is an
edited version.

Time has passed since I last visited
the Twin Cities, almost 25 years in fact

-5-

since I last set foot in the great state of
Minnesota. The memory of the brief
period my family lived there, however,
is as vivid to me today as perhaps
what happened two days or two
weeks ago.

In the summer of 1951 my father
received a job offer from a new compa-
ny that located him in Minneapolis,
bringing about a move from Evanston,
Illinois, the city of my birth. I have
never met anyone since from the
Chicago area that did not have at least
a passive interest in mass transit be it
rubber-tired or steel-wheeled, and at
the tender age of five, I was no excep-
tion. Evanston is a city that is divided
in two at length by "the great wall of
traction". My curiosity was aroused.

All at once Evanston became histo-
ry. It was late afternoon on that sum-
mer day. Standing on the platform
atop part of the great wall at the
Chicago & Northwestern Davis Street
station being seen off by passing North
Shore Line locals, Chicago Transit
Authority even more locals, the
Northwestern locals behind steam.
Even a two-unit RDC train passed.
Then finally our carriage; the flagship,
the "400" train to Minneapolis. Our
seats were on the Lake Michigan side
of the train. This was very fortunate; it
permitted me to watch the North
Shore Line pass in review.

Later that evening I was awakened
by the bustle of other passengers put-
ting away their magazines and gather-
ing their luggage. Weary-eyed, I
looked out the window. Below me was
the glimmer of the Mississippi, ahead
the lights of a strange new city, dotted
with the orange-red neons of the many
downtown hotels, towered over by a
spire-like building with a strange new
name ... FOSHAY.

Once inside the Great Northern sta-
tion, it was the usual clogged aisles as

ahs

everyone made their way onto the
platform. My dad was there waiting
for us. We walked up through the cav-
ernous waiting room and out between
the teeth-like pillars into our waiting
car.

The first day

Morning came very early. My father
had some business calls to make.
Mother and I went along to see this
new city. Lots of lakes that you could
see the other side of, a drug store on a
street corner with a big parrot on the
door, traffic lights at street intersec-
tions with bells, and above all else, the
most delightful, majestic yellow street
cars one could ever hope to see. They
seemed to be everywhere and go
everywhere. One was behind another
on the same street; the first going
straight ahead, the next pausing
briefly then turning into a side street
disappearing from sight. My curiosity
was intense. Where were they all
going? Well, in the remaining three
years of the life of this system, I
stopped at nothing to find out.

The next morning we decided to
stop at our new home. Our furniture
had not arrived from Evanston yet. We
drove around the west side of Lake
Calhoun and into Sheridan Avenue S.,
up several hills to 4039, a very substan-
tial brick and stucco duplex. No soon-
er did the building come into view
than a Gray Van Lines moving van
came into sight from the other direc-
tion. Moving in day was here.

All of that commotion was too much
for me. I asked if I could go outside
and walk around for awhile. Mother
agreed but made me promise not to go
too far. Out the door I went to explore
this new neighborhood.

I came to a street corner. I couldn't
read words very well then, but I knew
numbers pretty well. The street sign
said W. 42nd Street. As I crossed W.

42nd Street, I could see another lake
ahead of me. I didn't think it was the
same one, since the other one, Lake
Calhoun, didn't curve in this direction.
Once across the street, the lake shore
was in view.

What's this? A railroad crossing
sign. A funny looking thing. It's too big
and on the wrong side. There was a
garland of three big black cables
drooping over the crossing that didn't
miss my eyes either. By the time I
reached the bottom of the hill, I had
decided that here indeed is where the
streetcars ran.

In Chicago, streetcars always ran in
the streets. The North Shore and the
"L" ran off the street. But there was that
spot in Wilmette on Greenleaf Avenue
where the North Shore ran in the
street. Well, I guess if the North Shore
can run in the street there, then it was
OK for streetcars not to.

Such a big station for streetcars, lots
of windows and a covered platform. I
walked across the street at the bottom
of the hill spellbound by this new find.
Under the roof were some benches.
My dad and I used to go over to
Isabella Street in Evanston to watch
"L's" and North Shore trains so I guess
it would be all right if I crossed the
tracks and sat on a bench for awhile.

I ran across the tracks, ankles wob-
bling as my feet struck the uneven
blocks that surrounded the rails in the
crossing. I walked up to the door that
led inside and looked through the
screen. Inside were two refrigerated
food coolers, more benches and behind
the coolers was a very slender, older
looking lady wearing a floral dress. I
opened the door and went inside. The
lady looked at me and asked if I want-
ed something. I said "no" and went
outside and sat on a bench.

No sooner had I positioned myself
on one of the benches then a very
strange ghostlike whining sound was

coming from overhead. To my left
from around a very gradual curve
appeared one of those great yellow
streetcars. It came to a stop at the
crossing. Then, with a gasp of air from
the brakes and a groan, it proceeded
through the crossing coming to a stop
directly in front of me. The tall doors
opened wide, turning slightly away
from the entrance making the opening
look a bit wider than it really was.

A man wearing a gray hat got off.
The motorman looked down the steps
of the car at me. I didn't move a mus-
cle. Being this close to one of these
great yellow streetcars was a frighten-
ing experience. I had been this close to
elevated trains before but probably
due to the high platforms they didn't
seem quite so big. On its front was a
large cowcatcher that looked some-
what like a minnow scoop.

The tall doors slid shut and with a
groan the car began to move forward.
As it gathered speed, I was amused by
the holes in the wheels going around
and around. The motion reminded me
of the propeller-like device inside the
glass bubble on a gas pump. Away it
went disappearing into the trees in the
distance. The man who got off walked
to the end of the platform. He had
something in his hand and he threw it
to the ground It appeared to be a
crumpled up blue piece of paper.

My attention was caught by the
arrival of another streetcar from the
other direction. This one came to a
stop also. Nobody got on or off. Then it
started through the crossing, gradually
turning out of sight. I noticed some-
thing very strange at this point. There
were stop signs there, facing into the
streetcar tracks. I later found out from
Mrs. Shipman (my nanny) why that
was. She was a wonderful person;
always interested in what I liked to do.
She had many stories to tell about the
streetcar line having spent her entire

life in southwest Minneapolis. By now
I was a bit worried that I had been
away too long.

I slid off the bench and walked
along under the roof of the station.
When I came to the street, the blue slip
of paper that man in the gray hat
threw away was there. I picked it up
and unfolded it. It looked like a trans-
fer or stopover or something. There
was a big red number "51" in the mid-
dle of it. | put it in my pocket and start-
ed home, up the steep hill.

When I arrived home, the moving
van had been completely unloaded.
Upstairs there was a frenzy of activity;
boxes, furniture, and carpets strewn all
over. With all this activity my parents
were unaware of how long I had been
gone.

Later we stopped for dinner at the
coffee shop in the Calhoun Beach
Hotel. I pulled the blue transfer out of
my pocket and showed it to my par-
ents. I asked what it said in the middle
through the red numbers. Mom looked
at it and said, "Como and Oak
Harriet." Well, Inow knew the name of
the streetcar line. Both mom and dad
promised we would go on a ride soon.
Less than a week later we did and that
was the first of many to follow.

I led the way all the way to track-
side. Mom was expecting to get on in
the Upton shopping district, but I
explained the newly discovered sta-
tion at Lake Harriet was much better.
Our destination today was only as far
as Lake and Hennepin. Not much of a
ride really, but nevertheless an event to
be remembered.

Once at the station, Mom wanted to
be sure of the right streetcar in the
right direction so we went into the sta-
tion to ask. Before Mom had asked the
complete question, the lady interrupt-
ed in a nasal, almost annoyed voice,
"Any one that goes by here, on this
side, any one at all", with index finger

extended moving her hand back and
forth in the direction of the tracks. We
thanked her and walked outside.

There it was, ride number one. I
stepped up and had the shiny metal
stanchion in the middle of the entrance
not been there, I would have had con-
siderable trouble with the first step.
Mom was right behind me, but need-
less to say I had to be the first aboard.
So intent on finding a window seat I
tripped on the step up into the car and
fell flat on my face. There was a seat
next to an open window on the gate
side. I slid over the smooth rattan to
the window sill. The tall door leaves
folded shut and we were on our way.

The car began to move growing
speed rapidly. The groan of the motors
below grew steadily in pitch and at
one point as the car gained speed,
every pane of glass inside the car
vibrated in harmony with the sound of
the motors. Lake Harriet disappeared
into the trees as did Queen Avenue
behind the iron railing.

The car began to sway gently, the
motion became even more noticeable
as the car passed through a gentle 'S'
curve. Just a bit further we rounded
another curve and passed beneath a
large limestone bridge. The opening
seemed so low that I felt we wouldn't
fit under it. Beyond the bridge there
was a very gradual curve and Lake
Calhoun came into view as did two
rather large haystacks being used as
archery targets.

On the right there appeared a beau-
tiful very rolling, heavily wooded
cemetery. All the while, the whine of
the motors below the car played a tune
that changed pitch momentarily each
time the wheels passed over a joint. I
looked out the front window and just
ahead there appeared to be a small
trestle.

When the car passed over it, I
looked down at its edges which were

visible from the window. It was just a
trough made of boards. I looked sky-
ward through the upper sash and
began following the sag of the three
feeder cables that were suspended
overhead. Just beyond the trestle a
large tree leaned out into the path of
the cables. Rather than cut the tree
down, TCRT installed a Western
Union bracket to change the position
of the cable to avoid the obstruction.

Ahead, the tracks turned very grad-
ually following the direction of
Richfield Road and the shore of Lake
Calhoun. The track ahead looked as
though it was passing through the
nave of a great arbor cathedral. I
looked around the inside of the street-
car. The motorman had a stool to sit
on, but never used it. Instead, he pre-
ferred to stand the entire trip. There
was the fare box next to him. It was a
bit shorter than those I had seen before
and had a hand crank on the side.
There were the usual advertising cards
up and down the sides above the win-
dows and leather straps which swung
to and fro as the car rocked along.

The cemetery came to an end as the
car rumbled over a bridge. There
ahead was another 'S' curve. Lake
Calhoun appeared on the left over a
high bluff. On the right above us were
the back yards of homes. This plateau
lasted only a short while before a
crossing came into view ahead. The
motorman took his hand away from
the controller and the car coasted
toward the crossing. The crisp note of
the gong rang out and we proceeded
through the crossing paying heed to
none. This was literally a streetcar
alley; backyards and garages right up
against the right-of-way.

Ahead was a curve and a long wait-
ing platform. The car slowed down to
a near stop, but didn't. The dark red
pavement in 31st Street was now in
view. The sounds of motors, brakes,

and compressor were now joined by
the deep rumbles of trucks on street
trackage. It was fun watching the
splashes of yellow reflecting from the
windows in the houses along the
street. The car stopped at 31st and
Hennepin to pick up two passengers.
Then it turned the corner into
Hennepin. There ahead was the end of
the line, for now anyway.

After we got off, I glanced up and
was amazed at the intricate net of trol-
ley wire overhead. My appreciation for
the intricacy of overhead construction
began to develop while in
Minneapolis. I have never experienced
anything quite like it in any other sys-
tem since. Curve construction particu-
larly; never too many pull offs nor too
few, and something I feel is unique to
the TCRT system, the use of porcelain
strain insulators attached directly to
the eyelets of single and double yoke
curve hangers. Most other systems
around the country placed the insula-
tors in the pull-off span or used "hick-
ory stick" insulators. Most of us can
easily identify a system by its rolling
stock. For me, it's not only that, but the
overhead system as well.

In a week or so following this day,
Mrs. Shipman came to stay with me. I
told her about the first trip on the
Como-Harriet, the handsome station,
and those strange stop signs facing
into the tracks. She told the story of the
time when she was very young and a
near catastrophe that occurred at 42nd
and Queen. It was a Sunday in the
winter of 1911. She and her family
were returning home from a service at
Linden Hills Congregational Church
in a horse drawn sleigh. Her brother
had the reins and while descending
the hill, lost control of the horse.
Unable to stop, the horse sleigh with
its passengers darted out in front of an
eastbound streetcar. The streetcar
struck the rear of the sleigh and had it

“7

not been for the very icy conditions,
much more damage could have result-
ed. As it was, the car pushed the sleigh
sideways onto the station platform
and only a few broken pieces of wain-
scot resulted. This, together with sev-
eral similar incidents before this one,
led to TCRT establishing the policy
that all cars in either direction must be
brought to a complete stop before
crossing 42nd Street. This was appar-
ently little hardship on operations
since there was almost always some-
one waiting to get on or off.

At all other crossings east of France
Avenue the relationship was similar to
that of two autos approaching an
unmarked intersection at the same
time. West of Xerxes and east of
France, the crossings were equipped
with wood crossbuck signs except at
York and Zenith which had only yel-
low stop signs. Beyond France, the
crossing signs were used, now with
stop signs mounted in the center of the
lantern shelf facing more appropriate-
ly toward the street. The oversized one
at 42nd Street was the only one like it
on the line.

Mrs. Shipman also told me of the
many weekends that she and her fam-
ily spent at Minnetonka. They looked
forward most of all to the ride back
home. In those days, the southeast cor-
ner of the Lake Harriet Station was a
fully-equipped ice cream parlor com-
plete with bentwood furniture and
uniformed attendants. The family
always took time out for a sweet treat.

From early childhood until the time
we lived in Minnesota, I was a chronic
asthmatic. Medical science had devel-
oped a series of inoculations which
taken three times a week for three
years would cure the problem. The
program required visiting clinics
downtown and on Sunnyside Road in
Morningside on _ the — schedule.
Needless to say, there was only one

-8-

way to get to either spot, the Como-
Harriet. After a few trips with Mom, I
had the routine down pat and I was on
my own. Now the fun started.

Most parents usually have consider-
able trouble getting their children into
a doctor's office. Mine were no excep-
tion, at least until Minneapolis. By the
early 1950s medical science had devel-
oped a series of injections which, when
taken over a period of years, would
cure an allergy problem. These shots
were administered at a doctor's office
in the Rand (now Dain) Tower in
downtown Minneapolis and at a clinic
on Sunnyside Road in suburban
Morningside. Wouldn't you know the
best way to get to both places was the
Como-Harriet. Once started, this went
on for three years. In fact the allergy
shots outlasted the streetcars. It was
during these thrice weekly trips that a
real traction "nut" was born.

The westbound trips were the most
enjoyable although by far shorter than
others. There is always a single inci-
dent that has caused all of us to have
the interest in traction that we do. For
me it was the trackage behind St.
Thomas School between Upton and
Xerxes. The concrete wall provided a
splendid sounding board for the won-
derful sounds of traction. Since there
was always a stop at Upton, the wall
provided excellent sound of the car
accelerating.

I began taking small notebooks with
me. The purpose of this, in true railfan
fashion, was to record the numbers of
cars I had ridden on. Although many
of the pages have been lost, there are
some interesting things among those
pages that survived. The number that
appears most frequently is 1707.

I recorded a car that achieved fame,
#1166. The oldest operating car in the
fleet, it made the last scheduled trip
before abandonment. I had walked
over from the clinic in Morningside to

the loop at 44th and France. There it
was, doors closed. The motorman had
vanished, I imagine, to telephone into
the dispatcher. It had rained very hard
while I was in the clinic. The rain
streaming down the side of the car had
carried rivulets of chalky yellow paint
that made a very distinct line on the
ground beneath the car. This was a
steel-sided car and the bold TCRT logo
had a chalky film on it too. It was now
that I learned how to manually open
the two door leaves by operating the
rod on the front of the car. On the ride
that followed, I never dreamed I was
riding on what was by then TCRT's
oldest car.

A short time afterwards, (August 11,
1952) the trackage on France Av. S. was
abandoned. This didn't seem too unre-
alistic since the condition of the pave-
ment was terrible except for one
stretch on France between 49th and
51st Streets. This was concrete and in
very good condition. The streetcar was
replaced by a shuttle bus; always a
larger, clumsy Mack. On repeated inci-
dents thereafter, TCRT displayed the
streetcar's "inflexibility" in traffic.

The bus laid over at the west end of
the loop at the curb alongside the serv-
ice station on the northeast corner of
44th and France. The bus driver
always parked the bus just far enough
back so that its rump stuck out into the
westbound track. Needless to say, this
prevented Como-Hopkins cars from
passing. If the motorman of this one
stopped too far back, he too would
block the crossover preventing a
Como-Harriet car in the loop from
starting its journey back downtown.
This was by no means an isolated inci-
dent. Between the fall of 1952 and the
summer of 1954 it happened over and
over again.

One other entry in my notebook was
particularly amusing. It reads like this;
"To St. Paul New L doors." It took some

time studying The Electric Railways of
Minnesota to figure out what it was I
had written. This was car No. 299. The
trip was on University Avenue. New
meant a PCC. L doors referred to the
door operation which unlike the bal-
ance of the PCC fleet more closely
resembled the articulated maroon and
silver units then on permanent service
on the elevated through Evanston,
Illinois to Wilmette.

Each of us I'm sure have packed
away in our memories a favorite ride.
I'm no exception. Mine was a complete
south side circle and involved the fol-
lowing routes; Como-Harriet, Selby-
Lake, Ft. Snelling-North Washington,
Plymouth-E. 25th Street, 38th Street,
and Bryant to 54th-Penn, and finally
Oak-Harriet. The transfer colors were
blue, green, pink, purple, blue, orange,
blue in that order.

If the Selby-Lake motorman was in a
good mood he, when asked, would
give you a handful of expired transfers
to add to your collection. The Selby-
Lake cars were the best by far for this
since so many routes crossed its path.
If you were really lucky you could
make the trip on one fare. The transfer
privilege was so set up that someone
living on any southside location could
travel to any other southside location
on one fare using downtown and
crosstown cars and buses.

My last ride on a streetcar is perhaps
the most vivid memory of all. It was a
warm summer day on June 16, 1954.
The Minneapolis school system at that
time was releasing its classes in mid-
June and today was the last day. I had
ridden to Eustis Street and Brookside
loop the weekend before and although
that in itself would have been a satis-
factory "last ride", there had to be one
more.

Continued on page 20.

CHSL in color--Uptown to France Avenue

Now that we can do more color, here’s a photo tour our piece of the Como-
Harriet line, and then some. This was the most photographed section of the
entire TCRT system.

Top left: A downtown-bound car on 31st Street at Humboldt Avenue. Vernon Langdon
photo.

Bottom left: Crossing 32nd Street on the alley trackage between Irving and James.
Vernon Langdon photo.

Above: Turning from 31st Street into the alley trackage that extended to 34th Street.
Ken Royer photo.

Below: Crossing the bridge over 36th Street. Ken Royer photo.

Above: Above: The view north from the Berry Road bridge looks different today
because Lakewood cemetery took over the right of way and our tracks now curve to Above: A 1949 Minnesota Railfans special to Hopkins meets a northbound car at

the left. Ken Royer photo. 42nd Street. Look how clean that car is. George Krambles photo.
Below: The Cottage City stop. North Star Chapter, NRHS collection.

Below: PCC cars only served the Como-Harriet and Oak-Harriet from 1952 to 1953.
Sandy Goodrick photo.

How it would look if we could turn PCC 322 at the north end of the line. George Krambles photo.

-IT1-

Thhhbe

+ ogg ett TTT

BV ee RG HEN Ce rake The I eWeHlOLy elon Belere ce sU eee etoc anny Ge Above: The retaining wall along Queen Avenue was built in 1916. Sandy Goodrick photo.
Groote photo.

Below: The view from the Linden Hills Boulevard bridge, behind the CHSL carbarn. George Below: An Oak-Harriet car leaves the 44th Street right of way at Xerxes Avenue.
Krambles photo.

Looking west from Drew Avenue toward 44th and France. Bob Mehlenbeck photo.

The Cedar-Riverside shuffle

The Minneapolis Street Railway had a terrible time finding the right combination of
routes to served the Cedar-Riverside and Seward neighborhoods southeast of down-
town Minneapolis. Lines were built, only to disappear in a couple of years, then reap-
pear later. This gets very complex, so here is a series of maps to break it down year
by year. It started during the horsecar era. Not all lines are shown.

¥ a 4 \ On o

Left top: In 1875 the
city’s second horsecar
line reached the cor-
ner of Cedar and
Riverside.

Left bottom: An ongo-
ing issue was where to
cross the Milwaukee
Road. In 1877 the
crossing moved from
Ath Street to 7th
Street.

Opposite left top: 1878
saw a reroute from
11th Ave. S. to 8th
Ave. S. to avoid cross-
ing an industrial spur.

Above: Looking east from Drew Avenue at the right of way along 44th Street.

Below: A motorman relaxes during his layover on the 44th and France loop.

Opposite left bottom:
1880--The new line
down Cedar Avenue
would have meant two
crossings of the
Milwaukee Road at 7th
Street and Franklin.
The reroute via 16th &
Franklin avoided both.

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Top right: 1884-- g
The Riverside
Avenue line shift-
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1885 saw the SUT RT Ne 7: iT

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to be abandoned

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line took over
part of the 24th
Street trackage
and extended out
27th Avenue S.

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Above: 1888 saw a minor reroute on the east edge of downtown. The big news was a
new line across Franklin Avenue from 4th Avenue S. to 24th Avenue S.

Below: 1890 brought the first phase of electrification, including opening the Interurban
to St. Paul on Washington Avenue. The Riverside line was electrified and rerouted via
27th Avenue, its final configuration. After only two years, the track on Franklin was
removed.

Above: 1891--electrification was completed on the Cedar Avenue and Bloomington
Avenue lines. Bloomington was rerouted via 15th Avenue, eliminating two turns.
Below: The final configuration. The East 25th Street line was built in 1912 and extend-
ed in 1923, and Franklin Avenue reappeared in 1914-1916, crossing the river in 1924.

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Franklin & Cedar

As the maps on the previous pages
show, TCRT had an on-again, off-again
relationship with the intersection of
Franklin Avenue and Cedar Avenue.
That’s because the Milwaukee Road’s
busy track between the downtown
depot and the Southtown yard and
shop complex passed diagonally
through the intersection.

In addition to passenger and freight
trains, there were numerous switching
moves in and out of the coach yard,
located just north of Franklin. The
opportunities to delay streetcars were
many.

Streetcars made the north-south
crossing of the tracks on Cedar from
1891 to 1950. The Franklin Avenue line
crossed them on the east-west axis
from 1914 to 1940. Starting in 1926,
Cedar Avenue hosted two lines. 34th
Avenue S. cars ran straight through on
Cedar. 28th Avenue S. cars turned west
at Franklin, taking 4th Avenue S. into
downtown. They didn’t actually cross
the Milwaukee Road, but were still fre-
quently delayed by it.

It took awhile, but TCRT eventually
vacated the troublesome intersection,
almost. The Franklin line was aban-
doned in 1940. In 1950 the 28th and
34th Avenue lines were sort of com-
bined, still being called 34th Avenue.
The Cedar track crossing was eliminat-
ed between Lake Street and
Minnehaha Avenue, just north of the
Milwaukee Road. The streetcars used
Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue
to reach Franklin, avoiding Franklin
and Cedar altogether.

It appears that move coincided with
the Minnesota Highway Department
grade separating Franklin and the
Milwaukee Road and diverting and
grade separating Cedar, an arrange-
ment that remains in place today.

These 1948 Minnesota Highway Department photos capture the traffic delays caused by train traffic that passed diagonally across the
intersection of Franklin and Cedar. Minnesota Historical Society collection.

Mm:

- Sa pee aig sty why
“ GoLOMEDA. =
FLOUR an

—_.
= 5h

These two photos date from about 1914. This view looks east on Franklin across Cedar and the Milwaukee Road tracks. A Franklin Avenue car to downtown Minneapolis is in
the distance. The crossing gates are manually operated from the tower at left which was staffed around the clock. Minnesota Historical Society collection.

-18-

This is the companion view looking north on Cedar. The streetcars had to cross six railroad tracks plus the single track of the other streetcar line. The Milwaukee Road coach
yard, now the site of the Blue Line LRT yard and shop, is at left. Minnesota Historical Society collection.

-19-

Above: A northbound 28th Avenue car turns from Cedar onto Franklin, thereby avoid-
ing the railroad tracks. 34th Avenue cars continued straight ahead, crossing the rail-
road on a single track. TCRT had to maintain the crossing and having only one track
was cheaper. Note the electrified wire mesh surrounding the overhead wire, allowing
the streetcar to clear the crossing even if the pole dewired.

Below: This is after abandonment of the Cedar Avenue crossing. Note that the street
is blocked beyond the tracks, anticipating the Cedar rerouting and grade separation.

Continued from page 8

Our landlord's daughter and friend,
Marna Peik, accompanied me on the
final trip. We arrived at 42nd Street
and Queen Avenue South in the late
afternoon. The sun was beginning to
set. The old distorted glass in the sta-
tion house windows gave off uneven
reflections. Not only was the sun set-
ting on this day but on this mode of
transportation passing directly in front
of us.

The destination today was 50th and
Penn, not much of a ride really, but
considering the time of day and date it
seemed appropriate. While we waited
a heavy-set lady and her three children
walked up and she asked "How much
does it cost to ride on this thing?" I was
a bit taken aback by such a question.
How could anyone refer to the best
streetcar line on the world's greatest
street railway system as "a thing."
There probably was a lot of this sort of
thing going on this week; people going
on their last ride and in this case,
doubtless the first and last.

I explained the three destinations
that could be reached from this stop
and the fares for all ages. Toward the
end of the explanation a westbound
streetcar came, stopped at the stop
sign, and proceeded through the cross-
ing. Just then I turned around, having
finished my explanation, only to look
up at the side of the streetcar and there
was Oak-Harriet looking down at me.

I jumped up and down several
times waving my arms in complete
surprise having missed the streetcar. It
rolled to a stop about 15 feet beyond
the crossing and the rear doors
opened. Ah, the motorman saw me.
We ran across 42nd Street and boarded
through the rear door. I looked up to
the front of the car and saw the reflec-
tion of the motorman's eyes in the rear
view mirror. I could tell he was smiling

- the crows feet were turned up.

I ran up to the front of the car and
dropped two dimes into the fare box.
The motorman said, "I thought you
wanted to get on." I recognized him
right away. He was a very nice old
man with snow white hair that stuck
out from around the edge of his cap. I
had ridden with him many times
before and we sort of knew each other
but never knew names. I recall getting
on his streetcar at 44th and France on
several of the many trips to
Morningside. Sometimes in the sum-
mer there was a popcorn wagon there
and during the layover he always
bought a bag to nibble on and share
with his young passenger.

The streetcar now underway turned
under the Linden Hills bridge past the
small waiting platform that was never
used and pulled up next to the toy
store at Upton causing every window
in the building to vibrate. Next at
Xerxes, the car rolled to a perfect stop
in proper alignment with the switch. A
Como-Harriet or Como-Hopkins car
preceded ours so it was necessary to
change the switch position. The motor-
man's many years of experience was in
evidence since he with one hand
leaned over and changed the switch
position without having to fumble
with the controller and the reversing
switch like so many of his coworkers.

Another passenger rang the bell to
get off at 46th Street. This was on a
slight hill so it took some extra braking
power to stop the car. The deafening
squeal of the brakes gave evidence to
the fact that the streetcar was operat-
ing on borrowed time.

The last passenger got off at 50th
and Penn and I quickly ran up to drop
another 20 cents into the fare box. The
traffic was extremely heavy on 50th.
We waited a very long time before
finally backing into the wye. What this
amounted to now really was a right

turn from the left lane. Can you imag-
ine that now? A traffic engineer would
never approve of that.

The cancer of abandonment was vis-
ibly close. The trolley wire had been
cut off just south of the intersection
(the line to 54th and Penn had been
abandoned on November 28, 1953).
There was the wire above us, a beauti-
fully constructed TCRT curve that
started nowhere and ended nowhere.
The little block signal on Penn just
south of 50th that protected the single
track on Penn was now dark having
outlived its usefulness.

With all in readiness for backing, we
stood with the motorman on the rear
platform. He stood there waiting
patiently for a break in traffic and said,
"Pretty soon there will be no more
Oak-Harriet car." I didn't say anything.
What could I say? He flipped the start
switch then momentarily looked sky-
ward to make certain the trolley rope
was starting to lean in the right direc-
tion. His concern led me to believe that
there must have been an occasional
problem with the frog at this point.

This intersection was a fine example
of everything TCRT had to offer in the
way of trackage and overhead. 50th
Street was concrete pavement with
concrete line poles from Bryant to
Xerxes instead of the usual capped
metal poles. The wye and the single
track on Penn were both blacktop
around the rails. The short section of
double track on Penn was of block
pavement.

Almost at once we were on our way
again. The car rounded the tight curve
onto 50th Street with its usual grace. At
50th and Xerxes I walked up and
asked the motorman what the wye at
this location was for. He said it was
only used in rush hours in recent
years. None of the crew liked to use it
because it was built backwards. The
streetcar had to pull into the wye nose

first and then back around into traffic.

There was a woman waiting with
that "I want to get on" body language
at 44th Street. The motorman turned
around to switch on the car lights since
it was dark enough under the canopy
of elms. I leaned out the window as the
car turned onto the right-of-way. There
was a sewer below me; the one that
about a year before backed up flood-
ing the track which resulted in a short-
ed out PCC backing up traffic.

The motorman applied the power a
bit early as we coasted through the
switch. A blue flash came from the trol-
ley wheel as it passed through the frog
and could be seen in reflections from
the glaze of the feeder cable insulators
above.

The car pulled up to Lake Harriet
Station and we thanked the motorman.
The streetcar pulled out, its red tail
light disappeared into the Glen. The
station was closed for the evening, and
the lights were on under the canopy.
Everything seemed so normal just as it
had been for the years before.

Two days later I rode by bicycle to a
spot next to the line pole behind the
hardware store at Upton. The street-
cars came and went loaded with rush
hour passengers. The following morn-
ing I awoke to a very hot, overcast day.
My bedroom window was wide open
and from Sheridan Avenue came the
sound of a General Motors diesel
engine. That really did it.

In all of our childhoods there are
firsts. The first time I went downtown
by myself - the first state capital I visit-
ed - the first state fair - the first obser-
vatory - all of these firsts were aboard
the Como-Harriet, back when you
could go when you please and when
going was as much fun as getting
there.

Midtown Greenway
streetcar interruptions

For the past year Minneapolis has
been experiencing inconvenience
because of I-35W's reconstruction. The
period 1912-1916 saw a comparable
disruption across south Minneapolis
as the Milwaukee Road excavated the
29th Street depression, known now as
the Midtown Greenway.

To back up a little, the Milwaukee
Road's Hastings & Dakota Division
crossed south Minneapolis at grade
next to 29th Street. From Cedar
Avenue to Hennepin Avenue were 39
grade crossings. The railroad had to
provide 24/7 manual crossing protec-
tion, at least at the seven arterial streets
with streetcar lines. The others were
probably protected only by cross-
bucks, creating numerous opportuni-
ties for collisions. The city imposed a 6
mph speed limit on the trains, causing
delays to be longer as trains interrupt-
ed traffic, including streetcars. Not the
least of the civic complaints was the
need to whistle for every crossing.
There were 16 of them per mile, mean-
ing trains had to whistle continuously.

Therefore it's not surprising that the
city mandated that the line be grade
separated. Although a major capital
expense for the railroad, grade separa-
tion would pay for itself in reduced
operating and liability costs.

The construction began in 1912 and
progressed from west to east.
Hennepin Avenue already bridged the
tracks, so the Como-Harriet, Oak-
Harriet, Hopkins, Lake Minnetonka,
Deephaven and St. Louis Park lines
were not impacted.

The TCRT Schedule Department
record books in the Russell L. Olson
Library contain the exact dates that
streetcar service was interrupted, how
it was handled and when through
service resumed.

7-25-12 The Bryant Avenue line on
Lyndale was severed. Cars from
downtown terminated at a temporary
wye at 28th & Lyndale. The southern
end of the line detoured via Lake
Street to Nicollet Avenue to down-
town. A temporary bridge was built on
Lyndale and through service returned
on 8-8-12.

4-24-13 The Bryant line was cut
again. This time passengers from the
downtown car walked across the rail-
road to a shuttle car to complete the
trip.

4-25-14 The Nicollet and Grand
Avenue lines on Nicollet were severed.
Cars from downtown wyed out at 29th
Street. Shuttle cars from the south
wyed at Elroy, a short street that paral-
leled the south edge of the railroad. A
temporary bridge was built on Nicollet
and through service resumed on 6-13-
14.

6-29-14 The 4th Avenue line was
severed. Cars from downtown turned
on a temporary wye at 28th Street and
backed down to the railroad. Shuttle
cars from the south used the existing
wye at Lake Street and backed down
to the railroad. On 8-10-14 a temporary
bypass track was laid through the con-
struction area. It was used until the
new bridge opened on 6-19-15.

5-3-15 The Chicago Avenue line
was severed. Cars from downtown
turned on a temporary wye just north
of 29th Street. Shuttle cars from the
south used the existing wye at Lake
Street and backed down to the rail-
road.

4-24-16 The Bloomington Avenue
line was severed, presumably with the
same sort of arrangement as Chicago
Avenue. Service resumed on 7-20-16.

6-1-16 The Cedar Avenue line was
severed. Service resumed on 9-22-16.

-21-

Above: This 1914 photo is the only known view of a blurred freight train on the 29th Street corridor crossing a streetcar line at grade. In this case it’s Bloomington Avenue. Note the
work car on the other side of the tracks.

Below left: The 29th Street Depression, as it was called, looking west at about 11th Avenue. The Sears store rises at left. John Barriger photo, St. Louis Mercantile Library collection.
Below right: The 4th Avenue bridge over the depression was the longest. A northbound 4th Avenue car crosses it. Bob Schumacher photo.

Almost preserved

The following Minneapolis Tribune
article from 1921 describes the plight of
what was purported to be the city’s first
electric car. It was parked at the U of M,
waiting to be part of a museum that never
happened. The news story, written 42
years after the first electrics appeared, gets
some facts wrong. It incorrectly describes
the first the car as running on the line to
Dinkytown, rather than the 4th Avenue
line. Other corrections are in italics.

Parked on the University of
Minnesota, campus, awaiting the
building of a big museum to shelter it,
the first electric street car run on a
Minneapolis track is exposed to rain
and snow, while generation after gen-
eration of students have glanced at it
and wondered if the university author-
ities were planning to establish a ham-
burger stand.

The history of the faded, forlorn car
dates back to Christmas eve, 1889
when it made its first run through the
old Bridge Square, while
Minneapolitans of the day thronged
the sidewalk. The stage was set in the
afternoon.

The late Henry Mosseau, driver of a
horse car for five years, guided his
horse over the old route for the last
time about 3 p. m. He washed the car
down for the last time, groomed his
horse, and hurried back to Bridge
Square to see the new electric car.

Car Creates Wonder.

At Bridge Square a huge iron post
150 feet high surmounted by eight arc
lights was an attempt of the city
fathers to light all Minneapolis by arti-
ficial moonlight. Eight o'clock found
the sidewalks packed. Wagons and
sleds which would be obstacles to the
coming electric car were moved to side
streets. Among the people gathered

were three Indian squaws who had
been selling baskets all day in the
square.

The thin cables strung above the
streets were the object of much specu-
lation. The crowd gazed and doubted
whether power sufficient to run a
street car could be transmitted from
such a thin wire. Shouts from Nicollet
Island turned their attention to the
approaching car.

It was crossing the bridge, accompa-
nied by a _ shouting mass_ of
Minneapolitans who had gone to meet
it, Under the "artificial moonlight" the
new paint on the car's aide glistened.
Its red and green lights sparkled as it
passed proudly down Hennepin to
Washington avenue.

Electric street cars were here to stay.
The route of that first car, the only line
in Minneapolis at the time, was from
Fourteenth avenue southeast up
Fourth street to Central avenue, now
East Hennepin, thence across the
Hennepin avenue bridge and to
Washington avenue, with the terminal
at Fourth and Washington north. A "Y"
for turning was unknown and an old-
fashioned turntable was used. Forty
cars of the first type were ordered and
operated.

Later when five lines were operated
a pole with the various destinations
marked on its sides was carried at the
front end of the car. Improvements in
the new cars over the old horse cars
included greater speed, use of guard
gates, enclosed vestibules for the
motormen (that actually didn’t happen
until after 1893) and the use of trucks
for the wheels. The cars were heated
by stoves in the center like the horse
car predecessors.

The most modern feature of the
electric car's appearance was the car
cards display in gaudy colors around
the top of the inside.

The coming of the electric cars also

called for new rails to supersede the
old ones with iron strips nailed to the
top of wooden rails. The new ones
were of solid iron. Two men to operate
the cars were another innovation with
the coming of the electric cars (no,
horsecars got conductors in the late
1880s). A passenger desiring to alight
waved a signal to the conductor who
pulled a bell as signal to the motor-
man. It was a wonderful improve-
ment, Minneapolitans of the time
declared.

Rotting From Exposure.

But the old car has lost its glory
now. It is rotting from dampness and
exposure back of the electrical engi-
neering building at the university.
Snow drifts on its top and birds have
built their nests under its deck. Its one
hope is the erection of a great universi-
ty museum, where it will rest in state.

The horse cars which preceded the
electric palaces on wheels were radi-
cally different from the passenger car-

riers of Minneapolis now, according to
a veteran member of the university
faculty who witnessed their passing.
They were 13 feet long, carried 15 pas-
sengers and were mounted on four
light wheels fastened directly to the
body of the car. The whole weight of
the car was only 1,000 pounds

Passengers were supposed to drop
fares in a box at the front end of the car,
directly behind the driver-motorman-
conductor. Those who neglected to
drop the necessary fare were noisily
reminded of the duty by a bell which
the driver rang. A bell attached to the
neck of the horse-motor jangled with
the jogging of the horse and warned
traffic and prospective passengers that
the car was coming. The driver was
unprotected from snow, rain or wintry
winds. Inside straw, several inches
deep, aided the half-hearted stove in
dispensing warmth, and straw on the
garments of Minneapolis pedestrians
was not the mark of a "hay seed," but
of the plutocratic car rider.

It seemed appropriate to end a Winter issue with a winter scene. In 1927 an eastbound Como-Harriet car on the Como Park right of way passes under Lexington Avenue.

MINNESOTA PO Box 16509

Minneapolis, MN 55416-0509
STREETCAR www.TrolleyRide.org

MUSEUM

August 2021

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